What is a Phobia?

General Knowledge | 7-14 yrs | Reading Pod

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“Come on ! lets go! “, all of Raj’s friends yelled out from the Fort they were climbing. They all had gone for a trek and their aim was to reach the top of the fort. Raj had fallen much behind , with his speed decreasing with every step. Sweat started dripping from his face onto his clothes and he started shivering. Soon Raj couldnt carry on and had to go back down the hill. All of Raj’s friends started laughing and making fun of him.

Why did this happen to Raj? Raj could not help it. If he had contiuned he could have fainted and fallen unwell.
What Raj has is a PHOBIA ( say FO-BEE -Ah) of heights. A scientific name for it is Acrophobia.

What does Phobia mean?

Phobia is just another name for fear. But it is not exactly the same as fear. It is normal to be afraid of things , everyone from children to grown adults have a fear of something or the other. A phobia is a more developed fear or a very strong fear of something . A normal fear can be overcome easily or it will outgrow as we become older. But a phobia generally never goes away and a person can have it for his whole life.

Types of Phobias

Now that you know what is a Phobia, let’s talk about the different kinds of phobias. Some of the more common phobies.

Claustrophobia : This is the fear of being in a closed of confined place or room. People who have claustrophobia feel like they are suffocating or will suffocate. An elevator or a movie hall are places that can trigger claustrophobia

Arachnephobia : This the fear of spiders. If people who have arachnephobia see a spider ,they will run like their life depended on it and not look back.

Aviophobia : Aviophobia is the extreme fear of flying. People who suffer from this will never set foot in an airplane or anything which takes its feet of the ground. A probable reason for this phoebia is if a person has suffered or expereicend a disaster connected to flying in the past.

Glossaphobia : When a person suffers from Glossaphobia , he or she is terrified of public speaking. That means, a child with Glossophobia will find it impossible to stand up in front of the whole class and speak.

Hemophobia : This is called the fear of blood. A person suffering from this cannot stand the sight of blood. He or she can get dizzy and even faint even if there is a very small amount of blood present.

Aichmophobia : Aichmophobia is the fear of needles. People who suffer from this will never get an injection or will not let a needle come near their body.

Chorophobia : This is the fear of dancing. You will never see a Chorophobic person ever step on a dance floor

Aquaphobia : Fear of water is called aquaphobia. Whether it is a bath tub , river or ocean, people who have aquaphobia think water is very dangerous and have the fear of drowning.

Ophidiophobia : This is the extreme and abnormal fear of snakes. The meer thought of snakes can frighten people suffering from Ophidiophobia

Brontophobia : This is the abnormal fear of thunder and lightning . Even though people suffereing from this know that it poses no threat to them, they are very scared. During thunderstorms they get so scared that they tend to hide under beds or sofas or in cupboards.

Social Phobia : People with social phobia are unable to interact with others in situations such as partys , or generally when there are group of people. They are very self concious and are afraid to act in public.

Agarophobia : It is the fear of open public spaces like amusement parks or fairs.

Zoophobia : Zoophobia is the fear of animals.

Driving phobia : As the name suggests it is the fear of driving a car , or any other vehicle.

Coulrophobia : This may sound funny , but yes coulrophobia is the extreme fear of clowns

Mysophobia : This is known as the abnormal fear of germs and dirt . People get so obssesd that they keep washing their hands, feet and face.

Scotophobia : Scotophobia is the extreme fear of darkness. Most of us are scared of the dark when we are small and then we outgrow it , but a person with scotophobia, no matter how old he is, just cannot stand darkness.